Titanium
by HawthornBlood141
Summary: You shoot me down but I won't fall. - Bits and pieces of Hermione's near death experiences.
1. Prologue

_A/N : So, a long time ago I posted excerpt here of a fic I was working on and named "Survive". I have renamed that fic to "Titanium" (from the David Guetta feat Sia song yes, because it gave me feels and it seemed to fit, lyrics-wise, it's a little upbeat rhythmic wise but I still love it ;-))._

 _I first wanted to post it all as one but I'm beginning to think it'll be too long and I want to do chapters - of uneven lengths, - because each chapter will cover a book/year at Hogwarts and there will be a prologue and an epilogue. I'd like to post a chapter every Friday and I'm going to do my best to do so and at least queue them on tumblr (and post later on Ao3 and here) because I won't have proper internet access all summer so it'll be a challenge but I want to try this. It'll force me to have a deadline to post stuff and hopefully help me dive back in._

 _Anyway, I'll shut up and give you the first short prologue. Hope you'll like it!_

* * *

 **Prologue.**

When she received her Hogwarts letter, Hermione never once imagined her life in the magical world would turn out the way it did.

She believed magic was a magnificent thing. Naively, she thought of how much the world was a better place with magic. After all, you can heal bruises and mend broken bones.

Never she would have thought that magic could be used in many evil ways, or that she would come close to dying as many times as she did.


	2. First Year

**I.**

 _I am going to die._

The first time the thought crosses her mind, Hermione is twelve.

Feeling accepted is important and it's taking longer that she realised. She usually has enough self confidence to shake it out and raise her chin high up. Not this time.

People groan out loud every time she raises her hand in class, the girls in her dorm barely talk to her and _she is a nightmare._

Hermione spends Halloween in the girls bathroom crying about it. When her tears have finally dried, she comes out to find herself face to face with a giant troll.

 _I am going to die._

She thinks of her parents, who trusted her enough to let her go alone in this unknown world. She thinks of everything she wished she had done. She knows she has no chance to fight this troll alone.

Then everything goes fast, Harry and Ron are _there_ and the troll is lying unconscious on the cold bathroom tiles. McGonagall arrives shortly after and Hermione doesn't think twice about it. She stands up for the boys.

Lying to a teacher has never been easier.

…

Hermione hadn't thought she'd be in the face of danger once again barely a few months later.

Going past Fluffy had been scary. Or so she had thought, before the boys got themselves trapped in Devil's Snare.

But it had been nothing compared to the terror that shakes her when Ron declares he has to sacrifice himself. She feels lightheaded as she witnesses him being smashed in the head by the white queen before crashing on the floor.

She barely has time to think about what happened before Harry wins and they run through the door to the next room. As they move in the dimly lit passageway, she can't shake the sights of Ron lying unconcious on the ground. She finds herself unable to swallow the knot of tears stuck in her throat.

 _What if he's –?_

As if reading her thoughts, Harry reassur

es her feebly.

She's relieved that the potions room is a puzzle. Logic she can deal with. Figuring out which is the right potion is _easy._ She welcomes the distraction that requires her to focus entirely on this, forgetting about the danger surrounding them. But once Harry tells her to drink the one that will take her back and that he'll drink the one that will get him past the purple flames, she is shaking again.

They are a bunch of eleven and twelve years old, how did they got themselves into this?

As soon as she drinks the potion that takes her safely back, she fights down the urge to crumble and fall in panic, because _so many_ things could have, _still can,_ go wrong. Instead, Hermione runs back to check on Ron, who has thankfully woken up though he's looking a little pale and disorientated. She helps him get up and they retreat back as fast as they can.

Luckily, they run into Dumbledore in the Entrance Hall. Quickly the Headmaster trails after Harry, and Ron and Hermione find themselves alone.

Both take a few minutes to look back up towards the stairs leading to the third floor where Dumbledore has vanished moments ago, uncertain about what's about to happen and trying to process what already has.

Finally, Hermione grabs Ron's hand.

"Come on, let's get you check up in the infirmary," she tugs gently before dropping his hand as he follows her.

"He'll be fine," she isn't sure who she's trying to reasssure. Her shoulder bumps into Ron's softly as they walk. "Dumbledore went after him, he'll be fine."

Ron stays quiet as Madam Pomfrey checks him up.

There is nothing else to do but wait. Wait and see if their best friend is coming back, alive.

What has her life become?


	3. Second Year

**II.**

She knows her theory is right.

If you see the basilisk through its reflection, you won't die, but will be petrified. It doesn't make her less scared.

She has to act fast, she needs to let Ron and Harry know what she discovered.

 _The pipes! How didn't she thought about it sooner?_

She scribbles the word down on a piece of paper, grabs her mirror and rushes off to the Gryffindor tower. On her way she meets Penelope Clearwater, the girl seems terrified. Hermione does her best to reassure her and tells her to use a mirror.

That's when she hears it. The hiss of a snake, so close that fear creeps under her skin instantly.

With determination and a hint of panic, she takes a deep breath and slides the mirror out in the corner. She has the time to be amazed by the animal's heigh before two piercing red eyes fix her through the mirroring glass.

Her blood turns cold as she clutches the piece of paper in her hand.

Everything turns black.


	4. Third Year

_A/N: Sorry for the lack of proper regular updates like I had originally planned. The summer is flying by and I don't have time to do everything that I want to do. Next update probably won't be for a while, but it is drafted and so are later chapters so I'm not abandoning this story, I just currently have other priorities._

* * *

 **III.**

She barely has time to rejoice in relief over the reappartion of Scabbers. Tutting Ron that she had countlessly told him Crookshank hadn't eaten his rat, before everything brutaly changes.

They just heard Buckbeat getting executed, rage filling her at the injustice of it all, when Scabbers bites Ron and a giant black dog pounces him taking him away throught the Whomping Willow.

It's almost impossible to follow them into the tunnel, the tree sends both Harry and her flying. By the time Crooshanks unexpectedily shows up, Harry has a cut above his right eye and her shoulder is bleeding from where the Whomping Willow had hit her.

It turns out that the dog is Sirius Black and she's more scared than anytime before in her life. A murderer is standing a few meters from Ron, Harry and her. Sirius is going to kill them and she thinks of the tragedy of it all. Her hand finds Ron's clutching tightly. She's trying to evaluate the situation and their chances and before she can overthink too much she attacks Sirius. When Lupin shows up, her lip is bleeding and her head spinning with all the informations the two men are providing them.

After that too many things happen at once, Snape is menacing everyone, too consumed by hatred to listen to what Lupin and Sirius have to say. Harry is in trouble, Snape's about to attack him and without thinking, Ron and her, apparently perfectly in sync, both knock Snape unconscious.

The room goes quiet and panic rises in her chest.

 _She stunned a professor._

Unsure if she will ever be allowed to perform magic again, Hermione is trying to remember if she read anything in the rules of Hogwarts about such infraction.

She is barely starting to breathe again when they come out of the Shrieking Shack and then all hell breaks loose again.

She witnesses her beloved professor turn into a werewolf and taking advantage of the distraction, Peter Pettigrew stuns Ron unconscious before running off, rapidly followed by Lupin and then Sirius.

Harry and her rush into the forrest without second thoughts and she doesn't have time to worry about Ron looking so pale under the full moon. Sirius needs help.

She doesn't see the Dementors until it's too late. They descend onto Sirius, giving him the kiss of death and she stares helplessly, heart beating too fast in her chest. They are too late.

They won't be able to save him.

More Dementors arrive, rapidly closing in towards Harry and her. She can already feel the air turning colder. There is no way they will survive this either. They can't fight Dementors.

Harry yanks her arm, instructing her to cast a Patronus.

 _Think of something happy._

But despair has already taken her over. It won't work and they will die here.

Nevertheless, Hermione attempts to conjure a Patronus and fails, as she knew she would. A Dementor floats above her head and she falls on her knees.

She breefly has time to catch sight of Harry's attempt at a Patronus before she closes her eyes. She thinks of Ron lying unconscious and helpless and before long, she falls into darkness.


End file.
